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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Don Alwin Rajapaksa was perhaps the most outstanding democratic politician produced by the Ruhuna region. He vehemently advocated the cause of the Ruhuna peasants throughout his career, while maintaining a quiet demeanour and a steady resolve. The country lost this able and amiable personality on November 7, 1967.

He was born on 5th November 1905 in a hamlet called Madamulana and had his early education at Mandaduva School in Weerakatiya. His father Don David Rajapaksa who held the post of Vidanaracchi in Ihala Valikada Korale, Giruvapattuva in the Hambantota District, sent him for secondary education to Richmond College, Galle. Having completed his school education successfully, he helped his father to manage the family property which consisted of paddy fields and coconut plantations.

He also helped his elder brother D. M. Rajapaksa, who was the State Councillor for Hambantota in attending to affairs of the electorate. Thus he got sufficient experience in the field of politics, but was reluctant to contest the Hambantota seat at the by-election of 1945 on the death of his brother.

Nevertheless, the politically influential people in the area insisted that he should contest the by-election and were finally successful in dragging him into active politics. He won the seat at the by-election and was included in the Committee on Agriculture and Land in the State Council. This gave him a good opportunity to tackle the problem of landlessness of the peasantry of Giruvapattuva. DA adopted a 99-year lease scheme to transfer crown land to landless peasants in five acre plots. For the middle income earners, the land extending from 10 to 50 acres was alienated in the same manner. These measures in fact gave a boost to the paddy and coconut cultivations in Giruva Pattuva.

When the first parliamentary general elections were held in 1947 under the new constitution, the former Hambantota electorate was divided into two, namely, Beliatta and Tissamaharama electorate. Most of Western Giruva Pattuva was included in the Beliatta electorate. D. A. Rajapaksa contested in Beliatta on the UNP ticket and triumphed at the elections.

When S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was disgruntled over the policies of the United National Party and left it to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951, D. A. Rajapaksa who was a close associate of Bandaranaike followed suit. It was the Rajapaksas who gave the maximum strength and support in Ruhuna to Bandaranaike at the general elections of 1952 winning the Beliatta electorate for the SLFP. Later on, in the historic general elections of 1956, which changed the course of our history, D. A. Rajapaksa and the family and their supporters were a source of strength to the MEP coalition. DA was elected MP for Beliatta and in 1959 he was appointed the Minister of Agriculture and Lands.

In fact D. A. Rajapaksa's ups and downs in the political arena are identical to the vicissitudes of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the time. At the general election of 1960, when the SLFP was defeated and the UNP formed a government, DA too lost his seat at Beliatta. But when the UNP government was dissolved and the parliamentary elections were held for the second time in July of the same year, DA once again emerged victorious at Beliatta and was a great inspiration to the government led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

He was appointed Deputy Chairman of Committees in Parliament and subsequently Deputy Speaker. When the SLFP lost to the Dudley Senanayake-led UNP in the 1965 elections, DA also lost his parliamentary seat.

Rajapaksas were never bent on making money out of politics. On the contrary, they had sacrificed their material wealth for the sake of politics. At the defeat in the 1965 general elections, DA not only lost his political power but was also devoid of material wealth. During this period all his children, Chamal, Mahinda, Basil, Gothabhaya and Dudley were studying in Colombo and he found it difficult to meet their expenses. He sold his vehicle, leased his coconut lands and went through enormous hardships to sustain the family. When he fell seriously ill in November 1967, there wasn't a vehicle nearby to take him to hospital. When transport was arranged belatedly his heart condition had worsened. After admission to hospital this great servant of the people expired. The people of Giruva Pattuva and Ruhuna lost a great leader.

D. A. Rajapaksa was undoubtedly a politician par excellence and a noble human being. He showed genuine goodwill towards the ordinary masses, moved with them and even joined the workers in his paddy fields in ploughing and harvesting paddy. That explains why the memory of his pleasant, unassuming personality has not faded even thirty five years after his demise. D. A. Rajapaksa, through his exemplary political career and through wise counselling by his beloved wife Palatuwe Dandina Dissanayake, has guided his children over pitfalls and over rough terrain which politicians encounter in pursuing their objectives. It is up to Chamal, Mahinda and Basil, who also have taken to politics, to live up to his expectations and maintain the dignity and decorum which their father had cultivated even while being a politician.

David Rajapaksha Vidanarachchi

He held the post of Vidanarachchi in Ihala Valikada Korale, Giruvapattuva in the Hambantota District.

D.M. Rajapaksa

State councilor for Hambantota District

Alvin Rajapaksa (1905-1967)

He was one of the founder members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was also a Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

Mahinda Rajapaksa: A man of the MassesMahinda Rajapaksa became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in April 2004. An attorney-at-law, he was first elected to Parliament from the Beliatta seat in 1970, being the youngest member in the house, aged just 24 years. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa had represented the same seat from 1947 to 1965.

Although many of the past leaders of Sri Lanka’s major political parties have been born outside Colombo, hardly any of them truly had roots in rural Sri Lanka. Mahinda is one of this select few. Born in Weeraketiya, Mahinda schooled in Richmond College, Galle, later moving to Nalanda College and Thurstan College, Colombo, only in order to attend secondary school. Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994-2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle. despite being the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka , Mahinda’s home is in Sri Lanka’s deep-south, a region to whose emancipation he has dedicated his life.

From the very outset of his career, Mahinda has adopted a centre-left political stance, identifying himself with labour rights and becoming a champion of human rights. His interest in world affairs is manifested from the close interest he has taken in finding a peaceful solution to the Middle East problem within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state. He is also the President of the Sri Lankan Committee for Solidarity with Palestine for past 25 years.

Throughout his career, Mahinda has given leadership to the cause of uplifting youth, striving to achieve a higher quality of education and training (especially in rural areas) as well as working to reduce youth unemployment. Deeply aware of the violent rebellions of 1971 and 1987, which led to the death of thousands of young people especially in the South, Mahinda has worked tirelessly to prevent yet another such tragedy by striving to strengthen the process of representative democracy and working to reduce social and economic barriers. His remarkable record of human rights activities was honored by the Vishva Bharathi University of Culcutta in India with Professor of Emiratus.

Mahinda proved to be a remarkably successful Minister of Labour, despite suffering a major setback in being unable to bring his brainchild, the Worker’s Charter, into law. The charter sought to establish trade union rights, a Wages Commission, social security, a National Trade Union Training Institute and facilities the adjudication of industrial disputes. He also created the Vocational Training Authority to recognize the rising need of unemployed youth. He was equally dynamic Minister of Fisheries, initiating several important programmes such as housing programme for fishermen to improve the lives and livelihood of fisher-folk, and also strengthen the industrial base of the fisheries industry. Inland fisheries too, benefited from these reforms, with the national harvest almost doubling between 1994 and 2001. Infact he initiated the first ever University for Oceanography known as Sagara Vishwavidyalaya. Establishing a Coastal Guard Unit, a much needed security system for an Island nation was one of his remarkable steps taken as the Minister of Fisheries. In addition to the Portfolio of Fisheries, he also held the Portfolio of the Ports and Shipping for a short period of three months. Within this period he started and gazetted the much needed construction of Hambantota Harbour.

In opposition, Mahinda has been both respected and feared. He stood fearlessly against the autocratic regime of Ranasinghe Premadasa ( 1989-93), bravely opposing totalitarianism and working to restore democracy. His jana gosha, pada yatra, peaceful protest campaigns held the then government to ridicule and precipitated the reforms that followed the ascent of D. B. Wijethunga to the presidency. Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed to the post of the opposition Leader in March 2002.

Loyalty to principle and party has been the hallmark of Mahinda’s political philosophy. Loyalty was, after all, what his father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was especially remembered. When the SLFP’s founder, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, crossed over from the UNP to the SLFP in 1951, he was amazed to find that all his promised allies had abandoned him, but for D.A.R., who crossed with him.

A devout Buddhist and an ascetic at heart, worldly wealth has never beckoned to Mahinda. He was honored by the most venerable Malwatte Chapter by offering him an honorary title of “Sri Rohana Janaranjana” in the year 2000 which is a very rare occasion for a citizen of Sri Lanka. Even when he was a cabinet minister, he shunned security and lived the simplest of lives with the family and his sons continuing to attend a suburban missionary school. He was never tainted with the stigma or corruption, and is widely recognized for his integrity. Despite his strong “Southern Buddhist” identity, Mahinda has carefully steered away from bigotry and chauvinism. He has put his support firmly behind the on-going peace process, while warning of a need to look beyond addressing mere grievances, to realizing the full aspirations of the people, whether of the South or the North-East. Indeed, he has been one of the few post-Independence politicians who have found it possible to cast petty politics aside when dealing with national issues, such as the rights of minorities.

It has been written of Mahinda Rajapaksa, “If there walks on this earth today a man whose heart beats as one with the workers of the world, that man is this man.” Mahinda is a leader with his finger firmly on the pulse of the people. He is a rebel with a cause and he has the vision to bring prosperity, peace and equity to all the people of Sri Lanka.

The oldest University in Sri Lanka, the University of Colombo is a sprawling complex located in the heart of the capital city of Colombo.

In keeping with its motto “Buddhi Sarvathra Bhrajate”, Sanskrit for “Wisdom Enlightens”, the University of Colombo strives to maintain academic excellence in all areas of study. The University of Colombo has 7 Faculties with 41 Academic Departments, a Campus, a School, 6 Institutes and several Centres and Units. Many undergraduate and postgraduate study courses in the fields of Arts, Science, Medicine, Management, Finance, Law, Education, IT, Aesthetic Studies. Molecular Biology etc are conducted by the University. The University also offers several other services, such as library services, career guidance, and services for differently-abled students

Student life is enhanced by a plethora of extra-curricular activities offered on campus. The beautiful playground and the modern gymnasium offer sportsmen and women the opportunity to exploit and develop their abilities to the fullest. The New Arts Theatre is often the arena for spotlighting the dramatic/musical talents of our student population.

Today, the University of Colombo with a proud history of over 115 years continues in its endeavour to meet the challenge of maintaining its position as the “Metropolitan University, Modern and International in Outlook and Character”. The location of the University affords the student population all the advantages of a “metropolitan university” in easy access to international information/resource centres, libraries, theatres, sports complexes etc.

Its central location within the City of Colombo provides easy access to a wide range of cultural, entertainment and business facilities.

The University of Colombo has a multi-cultural multi-ethnic student and staff population, fostering social harmony, cultural diversity, equal opportunity and unity.